GOLF
Darkness halts playoff
Colombian Camilo Villegas, Canadian rookie Mackenzie Hughes, Sweden’s Henrik Norlander and Blayne Barber of the US were due to return to complete a playoff for the RSM Classic in Georgia yesterday as darkness halted play after two extra holes. Five players finished the regulation 72 holes tied on 17-under at Sea Island Resort, including Billy Horschel, who was eliminated after missing a short par putt on the first extra hole. Rookie Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan finished in a four-way tie for sixth after posting a final-round 71. He faced a longer day than even the players who had to return yesterday. Pan left after the tournament to catch a flight from Savannah to New York, then New York to Hong Kong and a connection to Melbourne, Australia, where he was due to arrive tonight to take part in the World Cup of Golf.
GOLF
Fitzpatrick wins in Dubai
England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick sank a knee-knocking birdie putt on the final hole to seal the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday in a dramatic conclusion. The US$1.33 million first prize for the season-ending tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, meant the 22-year-old from Sheffield, who carded a five-under 67 to finish on 17-under, roughly doubled the amount he had won at his other 25 events this year. Earlier, Henrik Stenson sealed the Race to Dubai title. The Swede carded a seven-under 65 to snuff out any chance of being usurped as the Order of Merit winner.
GOLF
Hull wins her first title
Britain’s Charley Hull won the LPGA Tour season-ending CME Group Tour Championship with a two-shot swing at the 17th hole on Sunday, while Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand clinched a US$1 million bonus and Player of the Year honors. Hull fired a bogey-free six-under 66 to see off playing partner Ryu So-yeon of South Korea (67) at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, posting a tournament record 19-under 269 to claim her first LPGA Tour win. The Briton was tied with Ryu on 18-under heading to the penultimate hole where 20-year-old Hull birdied the par five, while Ryu took a bogey after having to hit out sideways from a greenside bunker. Jutanugarn, a five-time winner this season, shot 69 to finish in a tie for fourth at 14-under. Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung carded a 72 to finish tied for 55th place on two-over.
SOCCER
Larsson and son attacked
Helsingborg manager Henrik Larsson and his son, Jordan, the team’s striker, were attacked by fans after their side were relegated from the Swedish top flight on Sunday having conceded two late goals to lose a two-legged playoff against Halmstad. Jordan Larsson looked to have fired Helsingborg to safety when he scored in the 83rd minute, but a Marcus Mathisen brace in the final three minutes gave the second-tier side a 3-2 aggregate victory and saw Helsingborg drop out of the Allsvenskan. When former Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United forward Henrik Larsson and his son went to commiserate with the home crowd, a number of fans threw chairs and flags at them, while several masked men demanded Jordan Larsson’s shirt. As the 19-year-old removed it, one of the fans appeared to strike him, provoking an angry response from father and son before stewards could intervene.
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
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